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Longmont couple believe attack that left their dog dead is lesson for pet owners

Animals should remain leashed, they said

By Pierrette J. ShieldsLongmont Times-Call

Posted:
04/26/2012 09:10:02 PM MDT

Updated:
04/27/2012 11:36:35 AM MDT

LONGMONT -- Alda Crill cried Thursday as she stood near large drops of dried blood on the sidewalk near her home and talked about an unleashed pit bull's fatal attack on one of her beloved Yorkshire terriers.

Crill was walking her 10-year-old Yorkie, Zoar, and 8-year-old Yorkie, Bela, on a dual leash Tuesday afternoon, about a half-block from her house in The Shores neighborhood in northwest Longmont, when she saw a pit bull leave the front yard of its home and the control of its owner, who was working in her yard.

At first, she was not concerned as the large dog disappeared around a corner, but suddenly it came back into sight and charged.

It grabbed Bela and dragged Zoar behind because their leash connected them.

"I was screaming louder than I have ever screamed in my life," Crill said.

During the attack, Bela was pulled free of the leash. Her chest was torn open and one leg was ripped almost off, according to police reports. The pit bull, Chocolate, dropped the small dog and returned to the yard when owner Courtney Ebert-Hein called out to the dog, witnesses told police. A neighbor tried CPR on the small dog, but she died shortly after arriving at Longs Peak Animal Hospital.

Crill said she did not think twice about walking her small dogs in her neighborhood.

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"I have done it a gazillion times. I wasn't alert. It was just an everyday thing," she said. "I wish I would have said, 'Lady, are you going to go get your dog?'"

Animal control officers ticketed Ebert-Hein on suspicion of failure to control an animal and possession of an aggressive animal.

The officers noted in their report that Chocolate happily greeted animal control officers while still covered in the small dog's blood.

Belagrin

Ebert-Hein told officers she adopted Chocolate from the Longmont Humane Society about three months ago and that staff there told her that Chocolate was selective about dogs she got along with and had gotten into a fight at the shelter.

Liz Smokowski, executive director of the humane society, said Chocolate's record shows that she is an English bulldog and pit bull mix with a good record of playing with other dogs. The fight noted in the police report does not show up in her humane society record.

Smokowski said humane society staff counseled the family that Chocolate must remain on a leash.

"It is important that you take precautions," she said. "This is why there are leash laws in effect."

Alda Crill, left, stops Thursday to talk to neighbor Nancy Herbert who heard Crill yelling for help while her dog was being attacked by a pit bull in their neighborhood. "I heard her yelling for help and I heard that in my house and I live around the corner," said Herbert.
(
Matthew Jonas
)

Smokowski noted that pit bulls tend to get a bad rap and that Chocolate's breed isn't the problem.

"So much of it is the owner's responsibility and training, just like any other breed," she said.

Rikk Crill, Alda's husband, said pet owners should not trust animals as they would people.

"If you have an animal that is capable of damaging you, you have a responsibility to take care of that," he said.

Ebert-Hein said Chocolate gets along with her other dog, a bull mastiff, and her two small children, and she was unleashed because she wanted the pit bull to play with her other dog, who did not leave the yard. She said her family plans to keep Chocolate and they have hired trainers to help them work with her.

"It is just a horrible situation, and we just feel so sorry it happened," she said. "It was totally unexpected."

She said she believed Chocolate would be fine in her yard while she worked. When Chocolate left the yard, she said, she felt she would only drive the dog to run if she chased her.

Ebert-Hein said she put her other dog and her children in the house and grabbed a leash. When she went back outside, she heard Crill screaming.

"It all happened in, like, 60 seconds," she said. "We thought we were doing the right thing by adopting a dog. We will definitely never let her off leash again.

She added she hopes the Crills will allow her to apologize in person someday.

The Crills said on Thursday that it is too soon. Rikk Crill hopes the story will make other dog owners think twice about allowing their animals to be off leash.

"If somebody hears about it and thinks about it, that would be a good thing," he said.

Alda Crill, right, fights to hold back her emotions while standing on the spot where her dog Belagrin was attacked by a pit bull while her husband Rikk Crill, holding Zoar, a 10 year old Yorkie, looks on Thursday.
(
Matthew Jonas
)

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